Illinois State's student section was named the 2014 Naismith MVC Student Section of the Year.

For the second consecutive year, Illinois State’s Red Alert was named the Missouri Valley Conference 2014 Naismith Student Section of the Year, as announced by The Collegiate Licensing Co. (CLC) and Atlanta Tipoff Club earlier this month.

In the overall national standings, Red Alert finished in third place, after the final round. This achievement is Illinois State’s highest position reached in this annual competition. For the third-place finish, Red Alert received $250, which will be donated to the Weisbecker Scholarship Fund.

“We are incredibly excited for Red Alert to be recognized as one of the top-student sections in the country and the best in the Missouri Valley Conference,” said Director of Fan Experience Drew Claassen. “They provide an outstanding home court advantage to Redbird Arena. The atmosphere at the Wichita State game with 2,700 students in attendance was among the very best in all of college basketball.”

In the Naismith Student Section on the Year competition, Red Alert competed against Arizona State, Colorado, Indiana, Kansas, Minnesota, Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU), and Virginia for the national title. Ultimately, Virginia was named the winner of the 2014 competition.